B7-H3 is a cell surface molecule in the immunoglobulin superfamily that has been shown to perform both immunological and non-immunological functions. It has also been found that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important molecule in the modulation of endothelial cell behavior. In this study, we analyzed the serum expression of B7-H3 in 113 rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematous patients using the ELISA and found a positive correlation between B7-H3 and VEGF. Next, we investigated the involvement of B7-H3 in angiogenesis using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with transient knockdown of B7-H3 and an in vivo Matrigel model. Data from the in vitro experiments showed that B7-H3 increased cell proliferation, migration, and tube formation, and correlated with the expression of VEGF. Furthermore, B7-H3 affected the formation of functional vascular networks in Matrigel plugs, which were dissected from mice injected with different HUVECs. Our data suggest that B7-H3 promotes angiogenesis through the enhancement of VEGF secretion. This is the first study proposing a significant role for B7-H3 in the promotion of angiogenesis and may provide further understanding of this gene's biological function.

中文翻译：

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B7-H3通过VEGF细胞因子调节内皮细胞的血管生成。

B7-H3是免疫球蛋白超家族中的一种细胞表面分子，已被证明具有免疫和非免疫功能。还已经发现，血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）是调节内皮细胞行为的重要分子。在这项研究中，我们使用ELISA分析了113名类风湿性关节炎和系统性红斑狼疮患者的B7-H3血清表达，发现B7-H3与VEGF之间呈正相关。接下来，我们研究了使用人脐静脉内皮细胞（HUVEC）与B7-H3的瞬时敲低和体内基质胶模型在血管生成中涉及B7-H3。体外实验的数据表明，B7-H3可增加细胞增殖，迁移和管形成，并与VEGF的表达相关。此外，B7-H3影响了基质胶栓塞中功能性血管网络的形成，该基质是从注射了不同HUVEC的小鼠身上解剖而来的。我们的数据表明，B7-H3通过增强VEGF分泌促进血管生成。这是第一项提出B7-H3在促进血管生成中起重要作用的研究，并且可能提供对该基因生物学功能的进一步了解。